We always think of water as life-sustaining, refreshing, and the giver of energy and hydration. Well, water is good, but it’s what could potentially be lying in your drinking water that may be cause for concern.
50% of your body weight is water, which helps sustain vital organs, and transports nutrients to essential places. All of this may be true, but many Americans are starting to fear drinking water because of the recent concerns over the safety of America’s water supply.
In recent studies, it was concluded after reviewing over 20 million water records in 45 states that there were 316 contaminants found in these states’ tap water. This list of all things contaminated ranged from radon to acetone, and also tested positive for things like Freon and weed killer.
The scariest thing of all is that most of these contaminants weren’t even regulated and many of them could increase your chances of developing serious health problems.
Drinking water from the tap has also been shown to provide you with doses of hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs that can sneak their way into public water systems.
So, in order to combat this fear, what needs to be done?
For starters, we need to clean up in order to get cleaner drinking water. By doing more to clean up reservoirs and rivers, we would be preventing chemicals from entering our water supply, and we would spend less money on water clean-up efforts. New strategies have already been implemented to hold environmental agencies more accountable for new water safety regulations. These strategies are also being more closely monitored by organizations, like the EWG (Environmental Working Group).
Drinking water is essential for good health, and just because there have been recent health risks associated with tap water, doesn’t mean there aren’t ways of protecting yourself.
For drinking purposes, it might be a smart investment to purchase a filter for your faucet, or a filtered water pitcher that can rid the contaminants out of your water. Both of these products are reasonably priced, and can help save you money from constantly buying cases of bottled water.
If taking these steps still doesn’t put your mind at ease, the best thing to do to create peace of mind is to contact your local water supplier.
Every supplier is required to provide an annual report that includes information on contaminants found in the water, overall quality, and the source of the water.
In addition to contacting your local water supplier, it may also be in your best interest to have your home water tested, especially if you think it may contain harmful contaminants like lead. Having your drinking water tested for these things will put your mind at ease, and also give you more insight in what you can do to avoid future water problems.
If you think you need to quit taking from the tap, follow these tips to take the necessary precautions. After all, it would be a terrible thing to waste your own personal source of healthy hydration.
